The Heat is On

Goaltender Tyler Brown returned last week after suffering a lower body injury last month. (Courtesy of the Regina Pats)

The WHL reached its halfway point with four clear-cut division
leaders, but after a wild start to 2017, only the Regina Pats still hold
claim to a comfortable lead on their division.

At 37-6-6-1 with a nine-game winning streak entering the weekend —
thanks in part to the return of injured goaltender Tyler Brown — the
Pats remain the CHL’s top-ranked squad and one of the hottest teams in
the Dub. Their record puts them five points ahead of the B.C. Division
leading Prince George Cougars for the top of the league with six games
in hand. In fact, Regina still has at least two games in hand on every
team in the WHL.

While the Pats have kept on surging, the Cougars have seen their hold
on the B.C. Division dwindle to seven points after going roughly .500
through January. Meanwhile the Kamloops Blazers have mounted a serious
push for the B.C. banner with points in eight of their last 10 games
entering this weekend’s events, and a game in hand on Prince George.

Over in the Central Division, the Medicine Hat Tigers are now
clinging to a six-point lead for the top of the pack. While the Tabbies
have been dealing with broken legs to key defencemen David Quenneville
and Ty Schultz, they’ve managed to stay afloat with eight wins in their
last 10 contests. That being said, the Hurricanes have been the hottest
team in the WHL since bolstering their bench at the trade deadline.
Additions like Zak Zborosky and Riley Lindgren have helped the ’Canes
push their way to a 12-2-1-1 record since the calendar turned over into
2017, as well as an eight-game winning streak entering the weekend and
points in each of their last 14 games.

South of the border, the Everett Silvertips have been struggling to
maintain their hold on the U.S. Division, and the reigning Western
Conference champion Seattle Thunderbirds are hot on their heels. The
T-Birds have collected 19 points over their last 10 contests to cut the
divisional gap to just one. The ’Tips still have a game in hand, but
they’ll need to start stringing together some wins after being dealt
seven losses in their last 10 games.

While the battle for the division titles has been heating up, the
battle for the basement has followed suit. The last place Prince Albert
Raiders have been putting together some impressive hockey of late,
gathering five wins in their last 10 games to close to within a point of
the Kootenay Ice. But the real story has been the complete derailment
of the Edmonton Oil Kings — who now sit just eight points ahead of the
Ice, and 24 points out of a playoff position.

The Oil Kings offloaded a number of players in the days leading up to
the trade deadline and haven’t won a game since — they haven’t even
earned a point. After opening the new year with a 4-3 overtime victory
against the Calgary Hitmen, the Oil Kings fell into a 15-game tailspin,
and they’ve yet to climb out.

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